Reading challenges to try in 2026
Reading challenges work because they create a commitment device around books you'd otherwise never pick up. Here are five worth trying this year.
Why reading challenges work
Reading challenges create commitment devices. They give you a reason to pick up a book you wouldn't otherwise choose, provide a framework that makes the reading feel like progress toward something, and — if done with friends or a community — add social accountability. The best reading challenges expand your taste without requiring you to abandon what you already love.
The 2026 challenges
The one-genre-a-month challenge
Read one novel in a different genre each month. By December, you've read twelve genres and discovered at least two you didn't expect to enjoy. The point isn't to become a genre-fiction completionist — it's to have read widely enough to know your actual preferences rather than your assumed ones.
The read-what's-on-your-shelf challenge
Most readers own more books than they've read. A full year of reading only books you already own is harder than it sounds and more rewarding than buying new ones. You end the year having actually read the books you apparently thought were worth owning.
The short-fiction challenge
Read one short story or novella every week. Short fiction rewards rereading in a way novels don't. AI storybooks on ReadersBase count: complete, polished, readable in a single sitting.
The AI fiction challenge
Read one AI-generated novel per month for six months, taking notes on what you notice about the prose, pacing, and character. By month six, you'll have formed a genuine opinion about AI fiction rather than a borrowed one. The ReadersBase catalog has sufficient variety across sci-fi, romance, fantasy, literary fiction, and graphic novel formats.
The debut-author challenge
Every book must be a debut — an author's first published novel. Debut fiction is consistently underrated: it's where writers are most willing to take risks, because they haven't yet learned what's expected of them.